Final_Judgment

106 Genesis [45]
did last spring [when Israel launched a raid into Syria, resulting in a
condemnation by the UN Security Council]. Whether right or wrong, those
actions involve not just Israel but also the United States." 100
AMERICA—NOT ISRAEL—FIRST
Stephen Green believes that Kennedy's position vis-à-vis Israel was an
important stand: "It was a remarkable exchange, and the last time for many,
many years in which an American president precisely distinguished for the
government of Israel the differences between U.S. and Israeli national
security interests." 101
Thus it was that John F. Kennedy informed Israel, in no uncertain
terms, that he intended—first and foremost—to place America's
interests—not Israel's interests—at the center of U.S. Middle East policy.
NUCLEAR EXPANSION
This set the groundwork for further tension between the U.S. and Israel
over an even more explosive issue: Israel's determination to build a nuclear
bomb. Israel had been engaged in nuclear development during the past decade
but continued to insist that its nuclear programs were strictly peaceful in
nature. However, the facts prove otherwise.
In order to thoroughly examine Kennedy's conflict with Israel over the
Zionist State's nuclear intentions, we once again refer to Stephen Green's
aforementioned work, Taking Sides: America's Secret Relations With a
Militant Israel, a treasure trove of little known information relating to U.S.-
Israeli relations from the period of 1948 through 1967. Green writes of
JFK's discovery that Israel was engaged in nuclear arms development.
When Kennedy was coming into office in the transition period in
December 1960 the Eisenhower administration informed Kennedy of Israel's
secret nuclear weapons development at a site in the desert known as
Dimona. Israel had advanced several cover stories to explain its activities at
Dimona.
A 'HIGHLY DISTRESSING' SITUATION
Israel had kept the nuclear weapons program as secret as possible, but
US intelligence had discovered the project. Kennedy termed the situation
"highly distressing.” 102 Kennedy, upon taking office, determined that he
would make efforts to derail Israel's nuclear weapons development. Nuclear
proliferation was to be one of Kennedy's primary concerns.
Israel's intended entry into the nuclear arena was, as a consequence, a
frightening prospect in JFK's mind, particularly in light of ongoing conflict
in the Middle East.
From the very beginning of his presidency, John F. Kennedy found
himself at severe odds with the government of Israel. It was a conflict that